Single-trigger mechanism for firearms.



A E. P. PLU-Es. SINGLE TRIGGER VMECHANISM FOR FIREABMS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 19, 1910.

Patented Deo. 27,1910.

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E. r. PLUBS. SINGLE TRIGGBR MBGHANISM FOR PIREABMS. AAlILIt'JATNN FILED FEB. 19, 1910.

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UNET SAT EMIL F. FLUES, 0F ITHACA, NEW YORK.

SINGLE-TRIGGER MECHANISM FOR FIREARIVIS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 27, 1910.

Application filed February 19, 1910. Serial No. 544,845.

To all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, EMIL F. FLUES, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Ithaca, in the county of Tompkins and State of- New York, have invented certain new and useful mprovements in Single-Trigger Mechanism for Firearms, of which the following is a speciiication.

My invention relates to improvements in iirearms, and more particularly to a single trigger mechanism for double barreled tirearms of the type known as hammerless wherein the hammers are cocked by the breaking` of the gun, and a single trigger is employed to operate both hammers.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide improved single trigger mechanism for double barreled guns for positively7 preventing accidental discharge of both barrels when one is discharged, which has been a very objectionable and serious defect encountered in connection with many single trigger mechanisms heretofore devised.

In mechanism for discharging both barrels of a gun by the use of a single trigger, it has been demonstrated that the recoil of the gun when one barrel is tired will cause the operator to unintentionally pull the trigger a second time so that both barrels will be discharged in rapid succession, one oftentimes following the other so quickly that the operator is not aware that both barrels have been discharged. aim to eti'ectually prevent this by mechanism which will not interfere with the rapid discharge of the barrels in quick succession at the will of the operator. f f

A further object is to provide improved devices for setting the mechanism to discharge either of the barrels first as may be desired, and which mechanism may be set so as to always discharge a certain barrel first.

A still further and important object of the invention is to provide a single trigger mechanism in which the trigger is adjustable toward or away from the breech of the gun whereby to provide for longer or shorter reach and thus adapt the stock to the requirements of the operator.

Further objects of the invention will appear as the same is hereinafter more fully described and then claimed, and in describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application, and wherein like numerals of reference will be en'iployed to designate like parts throughout the different views of the drawings, in which :d

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of the breech mechanism of a double barrel gun equipped with my improved single trigger mechanism. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detached detail view in side elevation of the trigger mechanism showing the position of the parts with both hammers cocked, and the safety catch in released position. Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the position of the trigger mechanism parts with the right barrel discharged and the left barrel undischarged. Fig. 5 is a detail view in plan of a part of the lock-plate. Fig. 6 is a central longitudinal sectional view of the trigger mechanism. Fig. 7 is a detail view in side elevation of the lock plate post. Figs. 8 and 9 are detail front and end views respectively of said post, the lock plate being in section. Figs. 10, 11, 12 and 13 are detached detail side, end, and plan views respectively of the locking bolt stop. Figs. 1i and 15 are detached detail rear and side elevations respectively of the locking-bolt actuating-dog. Figs. 16 and 17 are detail side and underneath plan views respectively of the locking bolt scar. Figs. 18 and 19 are detached detail plan views of the opposite faces of the selector shift. Figs. 20, 21, 22 and 23 are detached detail side, end and underneath plan views respectively of the trigger-block. Fig. 24 is a detached det-ail view in side elevation of the trigger. Fig. 25 is a similar view of the securing screw therefor. Fig. 26 is a top plan view of the trigger. Figs. 27, 28, 29 and 30 are detail views of the selective shifting button.

The invention is herein shown in connection with a double barrel gun in which the barrels may be either shot-barrels or ritled barrels, andthe showing embraces suihcient of the locks or tiringv mechanisms together with means for actuating the same by successive pulls on the trigger, that the operation may be fully comprehended by` those skilled in the art.

The invention may of course be applied to firearms of different types and to those having more than two barrels.

In the illustration I have omitted all l showing of the gun stock, the barrels and other like parts not necessary for a complete understanding of the construction and operation of the invention, utilizing only sufficient illustration of the gun as a whole to properly show and enable a thorough understanding of the parts to which the invention is directed.

' The frame of the gun is designated as 20, which as usual, is provided with a rearwardly-extending tang 21 which is secured to the stock (not shown) in any approved or desired manner, and on which lies the snaplever 22 by which the locking-bolt 22 for holding the barrels in desired position is actuated. A lock-plate 28 of substantially the ordinary form is employed together with a trigger-guard 24 both of which are secured in position in any desired or approved manner. The hammers 25 while having the general form of the usual hammers employed in guns of the hammerless type, are provided directly below the sear bents 25 with a heel 25a which bears on the end 26 of the sear 26 when the corresponding barrel has been fired, and thus holds the Sear spring 29 of the discharged barrel under compression and relieves the operator of the necessity of pulling against the tension of both sear springs when firing the other barrel. The hammer springs 27, cooking-rods 28 and like parts need not be described in detail.

On the lock-plate 28 is a trigger-post 8() provided in the top or upper end with a threaded socket 81 which receives the threaded lower end of a screw 82, that passes down through the tang 21 and thus secures tlie` lock',` plate 28 securely in its position. The trigger-post is chambered interiorly and is provided on the forward side thereof with cheelepieces 88 in which is pivotally hung on a pin 84, a substantially angular-shaped dog, the arm 85 of which projects eXteriorly of the trigger-post, and the arm 86 of which projects into the chamber 87 in the triggerpost and is bifurcated so as to straddle the {iat-faced portion 88 of the locking-bolt 89. This locking-bolt extends into the chamber 87 of the trigger-post and is provided on the upper face with a notch 40, and with an annular shoulder 42 at a point some distance to the rear of the notch 40; at a point slightly at the rear of the annular shoulder 42 the upper face of the locking bolt is flattened f so as to form a shoulder 48, which engages with a in 48 in the rear end of the triOOer ,block to limit the rearward travel of the vlocking-bolt and this bolt carries at its eX- treme rear end a head 44 at the inner end of which, on the upper face thereof is an upwardly-extending off-set or projection 45. On the locking-bolt 89 is a coil spring 89 confined thereon within a chamber 40 in the trigger block 46, by the annular shoulder' 42. The headed end 44 of the locking-bolt 89 extends through a stirrup-like stop 41 which is secured to the lock plate in line with the postv 80. The function of these parts will appear as the detailed operation is set forth.

The trigger-block 46 is provided at its upper forward corner with an apertured lug 47 which lits between apertured ears 48 of the trigger-post 80 where it is pivotallysecured by a pivot pin 49. This triggerblock is formed longitudinally with an incut or slot 50 extending from side to side thereof, and from the rear end of the block for` wardly to a point adjacent the forward end and in which is the shift 51, (Figs. 18, 19) by means of which, in conjunction with the selective button hereinafter described, the selective feature of the mechanism is carried into operation. Extending through the trigger block from end to end, above the slot 50 is a bore 52 which receives the locking bolt 89.

In the upper face of the trigger block, just back of the apertured lug 47 is a notch 58 and to the rear of this notch 58, the upper face of the trigger block is also cut-away or slotted longitudinally as at 54 (see Figs. 6 and 21) for the reception of the locking` bolt sear 55 which is pivotally-mounted in said slot by a pin 56. The slot 54 has its walls bored out intermediate the ends 0f the slot to form a seat 57 for a spring 58 which bears against the under face of the sear, back of the pivot 5G so as to normally hold the soezr in engagement with the said locking The notch 58 in the trigger-block isrcut deep enough so as to intersect the bore 52 and thereby allow the dog 59 on the for-.fy ward end of the sear 55 to engage inthe notch 40 of the locking-bolt 89. The sear 55 at its rear end is provided on its` r under i face with a shoulder 60 employed merely for the purpose of preventing` the sear spring i 58 from dropping or springing out of its seat 57 when the rear end of the sear is Aelevated.

In the forward end of the trigger-` block` the same is provided in the lower portion thereof with a seatl 61 to receive a spring 62, the rear end of which bears against the rear end wall of the seat, and the outer end of which spring fits over a plug 62 inserted into the outer end of the seat and having its outer end bearing against the forward end of a slot 68 in the lock plate 28, the spring acting to hold lugs 64 on opposite sides of the trigger block normally in engagement with the sears 26 and thereby obviating any lost motion in the trigger. These lugs are carried by the trigger-block at the rear end thereof directly below the shift slot 50l and act, when the trigger is pulled, to rock the sears 26 and disengage same from the bents 25 of the hammers In Figs. 18, 19, and 27 to 8O I have shown a selective device whereby the mechanism is vset to discharge either barrel first as the operator may desire. This device is located preferably at the right hand side of the trigger since in this position it is the more convenient for operation by the operator. To accommodate this selector, the lock-plate is provided in one side wall of the trigger slot 63 with an incut 65 (see Fig. in which is received for sliding movement an upwardlyprojecting fiat-face stem 66 carried by a button 67 which slides on the under face of the lock-plate 23. The stem 66 carries at its upper end a stud 68 which projects wholly to one side of the stem, the direction of projection being inwardly toward the triggerblock. This stud is provided on its lower face with inclined faces forming a V-tooth or with a cylindrical face 69 which engages in the V-notch of a spring 70, said notch being formed by V-shaped abutments 7l, 72 formed on the upper face of the spring 70 at the forward end thereof. The spring 7() is fixed at one end to the lock-plate 23 as seen in Fig. 27 and holds the button 67 in the position to which it has been shifted, the shifting of the button forwardly causing the stud 68 to ride on the adjacent inclined face of the abutment 7l until it passes over said abutment, and the tension of the spring holding the button in shifted position. The head of the stem 66 is received within a notch 72 provided therefor in the right hand edge of the shift 51 adjacent the rear end of the latter, so that as the button 67 is shifted in one direction or the other, the shift 5l will be correspondingly shifted in the trigger-block, and the lugs 7 3, 74 of the shift positioned as desired. The shift is ield against lateral movement in the trigger-block by providing the upper face of the same with a groove 51 extending from end to end of the shift in which the upper wall of the way 50 in the trigger-block is received, the shift being wider than the trigger-block so as to provide for this construction.

In Fig. l I show a safety catch or device whereby the firing mechanism may be effectively blocked against all possibility of its discharge during transportation or handling. The device shown is of an effective form, though obviously, other forms of safety device may be employed with the improved form of trigger mechanism herein shown.

rlhe illustrated device consists of a button 75 of the usual form which is mounted to slide on the tang 21 over a slot 76 in said tang; a slide 77 engages the under fac-e of the tang 2l and is connected to the button 75 through the slot 76 by an elongated shank 7 8 of the slide 77. At its forward end the slide 77 terminates in a depending arm 7 9A which, when the `button 75 is moved to safety position, lies directly over the lug 45 on the head 44 of the locking-bolt 39 and securely holds the mechanism against actuation. The .arm 79 carries at its lower end, a tooth 80 for engagement with the sear 55 as the safety catch is shifted forward to disengage the sear from the locking-bolt 39 and permit of the mechanism operating.

In connection with the trigger mechanism above described, I have devised means whereby the trigger may be adjusted forwardly or rearwardly and thus vary the reach so as to adapt the stock to the requirements or desire of the operator. To accomplish this, I provide the lower face of the trigger-block with a toothed or rack face 8l, the teeth extending transversely of the block and substantially from end to end thereof. The trigger 82 is also provided on the upper face of the shank S3 of said trigger with a toothed or rack-face 84 which inter-meshes with the toothed or rack face 8l of the trigger block, the shank 83 of the trigger having an elongated slot 85 therethrough which receives a set screw 86, the shank of which extends through the slot 85 and into the thread-ed opening 87 provided in the lower face of the trigger block. The head of the set-screw is preferably made with an opening 88 therethrough as seen in Fig. 25 so that any' small implement as a pin or piece of wire or the like may be used for tightening the set-screw. Obviously a thumb and finger piece form of head could be employed, but such construction would depend a considerable distance and might prove objectionable whereas the form of screw head shown brings the head up close to the shank and entirely out of the operators way. Obviously when the set screw is slackened so as to disengage the faces 8l, 84, the trigger may be shifted forward or rearward so as to alter the reach, and the set-screw then tightened to secure the trigger in adjusted position. l

Such being the construction of the various parts, the operation will be briefly given.

IVith the hammers of the gun in the cocked position, the trigger-mechanism parts will be in the position shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, the toes of the sears 26 engaging in the b-ents 25 of the hammers 25 and holding the hannners cocked. In this cocked position, with the select-ive mechanism set for firing the left barrel first. the left sear 26 will be resting upon the lug 78 of the shift 51, and the right sear is free from engagement with the lug 74, due to the fact that with the shift 5l in this position, the lug 74 lies beyond the rear end of the right sear 26.. When, now, the operator pulls on the trigger 82, the upward rocking movement imparted to the trigger block causes left lug 64 to engage lug 7S and lift up on the rear end of left sear 26 and throw the toe of this sear out of the hammer bent 2:3 and permitting the hammer spring to actuate the left hammer the right lug 64 during this operation clears lug 74 and therefore the lug 64 moves up without engaging said lug 74 and the right sear :2G is therefore not actuated, leaving the right hammer in cocked position, and this prevents resultant firing of the right barrel. Tith the rocking movement imparted to the trigger block by the pull given the trigger in firing the leftI barrel, the sear 55 is brought into engagement with the tooth SO carried by the arm 7 9 of the safety device, and thus moves the sear 55 on its pivot so as to elevate the dog 59 of this sear and disengage the same from the notch 40 in the locking bolt 39, allowing the spring 39 to move the locking bolt 39 rearwardly through the stop 41 into the position shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. This locking bolt must be retarded in its rearward movement under the action of the spring 39 or its shifting would be so rapid as to effect the shifting of the parts so that an involuntary pull on the trigger would efl'ect a firing of the right barrel as well as of the left barrel. To effect this retardation of the shifting of' the locking-bolt to the full limit of its rearward movement, the abutment 45 is provided with oppositely-inclined vfaces 41a, 41h; as soon as the dog 59 clears the notch 40 the spring 39 forces the locking-bolt rearwardly until the face 4lb of the off-set or abutment 45 strikes the cross-bar of the stop 4l and the movement of the locking-bolt is arrested until the operator relieves the pull on the trigger, so that the trigger-block may swing down, and immediately, the bolt is permitted to resume its rearward movement under the action of the spring 39, the face 4lb riding against the cross-bar of the stop 4l and t-he bolt being arrested in its rearward movement by the shoulder 43 engaging the cross-pin 43.

In the firing of the left barrel, it is to be observed that the locking-bolt may not, at any time during its rearward travel, rise higher than is permitted by engagement of the upper face of the head 44 with the crossb/ar of the stop 41; but as soon as the bolt assumes its complete rear position, and pressure pull on the trigger is relieved, the head 44 of the locking-bolt is clear of the stop 4l and on the succeeding pull of the trigger the head of the block clears the stop 4l in the rocking movement of the trigger block. This permits of the trigger block swinging upwardly sufficiently far to permit the right lug G4 of the trigger-block engaging directly with the right sear 2G so as to actuate same and fire the right barrel.

It will be understood that when the selective device is shifted so as to fire the right barrel first, that the actuation of the right sear 26 is effected by the right lug G4 engaging lug 74 on the shift 50, and the actuation of the left sear 26 is effected by engagement of the left lug 64 directly therewith, the left lug G4 in this instance being the one which clears the co-acting lug on the shift 50.

Since the actuation imparted to the locking-bolt in the act of firing the first barrel does not complete the requisite travel of this bolt to a point where firing of the second barrel may be had, and such position of the locking-bolt not being had until the first barrel has been fired, it is impossible to fire both barrels of the gun with one pull of the trigger. This is due to the fact that with the construction shown and described, the sear 55 is not disengaged from the locking bolt until after the firing of the first, barrel, and by this time the locking-bolt has been swung upward so that the head 44 will V check the movement of the bolt temporarily and. prevent further upward swinging of the trigger block such as would effect a firing of the other barrel. As soon however, as the pressure pull on the trigger is relieved, the spring 89 actuates the bolt to complete its rearward movement. and allow of the further swinging movement of the trigger block such as will effect the firing of the second barrel in the manner before described. This absolute prevention y of doubling, the means (spring G2) for preventing lost motion in the movement of the trigger and trigger-block, the means for holding the sear spring of the first barrel under compression, whereby the operator in firing the second barrel is pulling against the tension of its sear spring alone, the sear operating in conjunction with the arm of the safety device, and the feature of the adjustable trigger are the important parts of the mechanism to which especial attention is directed and to which I lay claim in the broadest sense permitted by the scope of the prior art.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. A single trigger-mechanism for double barrel guns, comprising a lock plate, a trigger-block mounted for swinging movement in said lock plate, a trigger adjustably secured to said trigger-block, a locking-bolt movable with the trigger-block in the swinging movement of the latter and also movable longitudinally in the block, a head on the rear end of said bolt, a stop carried by the lock plate, a lug on said bolt head and adapted to engage said stop for retarding the longitudinal movement of the bolt in the first swinging movement imparted to the block, and means carried by the block for actuating the gun hammer sears comprising side lugs on the trigger block, a shift in the trigger block, and lugs on the shift to be engaged by the lugs on the trigger block, said last named means operative to fire one barrel in the one position of the locking-bolt and the other barrel in the other position of said locking-bolt.

2. The combination with a plurality of locks and the sears thereof, of a firing mechanism comprising a single trigger, a triggerblock to which the trigger is secured, a spring-actuated locking-bolt mounted in the trigger-block and movable therewith in the swinging movement of the latter, a lug carried by the locking bolt, a stop co-acting with said lug to arrest and retard the longitudinal movement of the locking-bolt in the block with the firing of one barrel of the gun and for permitting the completion of the bolt travel after one barrel has been fired, a shift member carried by the block, means on the block co-acting with the shift member for effecting operation of the sears independently.

3. The combination with a plurality of locks and the scars thereof, of a firing mechanism comprising a singletrigger, a triggerblocl; to which the trigger is secured, a locking-bolt mounted for longitudinal movement in the block independent of the swinging movement of said block, a beveled lug car- Aried by the bolt, and a stationary stop separate from the block to be engaged by said lug for retarding the movement of the bolt and holding the same against movement to position to permit discharge of a second barrel until the first barrel has been fired.

t. A firing-mechanism for double-barrel guns comprising in combination with a plurality of locks, the sears thereof, and a lock plate, a single trigger, a trigger -block mounted for swinging movement in the lock plate and having the trigger secured thereto, a locking-bolt mounted in the trigger-block for longitudinal movement therein, a lstop carried by the lock plate, and means on the bolt co-acting with said stop for prevent-ing simultaneous actuation of the sears and resultant firing of both barrels.

5. A firing mechanism for double barrel guns comprising in combination with a plurality of locks, the sears thereof, and a lock plate, a single trigger, a trigger-block mounted in the lock plate to swing with the trigger in the movement of the lat-ter, a locking-bolt mounted in the trigger-block and having longitudinal movement in the block independent of the swinging movement of the latter, a stop carried by the lock plate, and means carried by said bolt and co-acting with said stop for preventing the positioning of the bolt to permit firing of the second barrel until after the rst barrel has been fired and pressure on the trigger relieved.

6. A firing mechanism for double barrel guns comprising in combination with a plurality of locks, the sears thereof, and a lock plate, of a single trigger, a trigger-block mounted in the lock plate and having swinging movement with the trigger in the movement of the latter, a locking-bolt mounted in the trigger-block and having longitudinal movement in the bloclr independent of the swinging movement of the block, a sear carried by the trigger block and normally holding the locking bolt against movement, means engaging said sear to disengage the same from the bolt when the trigger is pulled, means for actuating said bolt when the sear is disengaged therefrom, a stop carried by the lock plate, and means on the bolt for holding the latter against being positioned to permit of a firing of the second barrel until after the firing of the first barrel and the relieving of the pull on the trigger.

7. In a firing mechanism for double barrel break down guns, the combination with a plurality of locks, the sears therefor, and a lock plate, of a trigger block mounted for swinging movement in a slot provided therefor in said plate, a trigger carried by said block, mechanism carried by the block for engagement with said sears to actuate the latter when the trigger is pulled, said block having a recess in the forward end thereof, a plug loosely-seated in said recess with its outer end bearing against the forward end wall of the slot in said plate, and a spring in the recess between the plug and the end wall of the recess exerting its tension against the trigger block to prevent lost motion in the swinging movement of the latter.

S. ln a firing mechanism for double barrel break down guns, the combination with a plurality of hammers, the sears therefor, and a lock plate, of a trigger block pivotally mounted for swinging movement in a slot provided therefor in the lock plate, a trigger adjustably-secured to the trigger block, mechanism carried by said block for actuating the sears when the trigger is pulled, and means for preventing lost motion in the swinging movement of the block, said means embodying a spring mounted in a recess provided therefor in the forward end of the block and exerting its tension to force the rear end of the block upwardly, and means confining the spring in the recess and bearing against the forward end wall of the slot in said plate.

9. The combination with a plurality of locks and the sears thereof, of a single trigger provided with an attached upwardlyextending trigger-block, a locking bolt mounted in the block and having longitudinal movement therein independently of the swinging movement of the block, means associating with said bolt for holding the bolt against being positioned for the firing 'of the second barrel until after the firing of the first barrel and the relieving of the pull on the trigger, and a safety device associating with mechanism carried by the trigger-block to permit the positioning of the locking-bolt for the firing of the second barrel.

l0. The combination With a plurality of locks and the sears thereof, of a single trigger for the locks, a trigger block to which the trigger is attached, an upwardly-extending post carried by said block, a locking bolt mounted in the block and having longitudinal movement therein independently of the` swinging movement of the block, an actuating dog pivotally-hung in said post and having a bifurcated end straddling the locking bolt, a stop, and means on the bolt associating with said stop for holding the bolt against being positioned for the firing of the second barrel until after the tiring of the irst barrel and the relieving of the pull on the trigger, a sear carried by the trigger block and engaging said locking bolt, and a safety device having an arm engaged by said sear to disengage the sear from the locking bolt and permit movement of the latter.

1l. A tiring mechanism for double barrel guns comprising in combination with a plurality of hammers and the sears therefor, a

single trigger for operating the sears of both hammers, a trigger block to which said trigger is secured, a locking bolt mounted in said trigger block and having longitudinal movement therein independently of the swinging movement of the block, a post earA ried by said block, an actuating dog piv-.` otally-hung in said post and engaging said bolt, a stop independent of the trigger block, means carried by the locking bolt coacting with said stop for retarding the movement of said bolt, a scar pivoted in the.

N. LoUis BOGAN, L. CLOUD NEWMAN. 

